Israel, US conduct missile defense test

Tensions over Syria ratcheted up a notch on Tuesday after Russia's Defense Ministry said it detected traces of ballistic "objects" — now claimed by Israel — launched from an area in the central Mediterranean and moving in an easterly direction.

After some initial confusion over who was responsible, the Israeli military said it was behind the launch, saying it was carrying out a joint missile test with the United States, reports from the BBC and Reuters said.

However, it was not immediately clear to what extent the U.S. was involved in the missile test. Earlier, CBS News tweeted that a U.S. official confirmed that American ships or planes were not involved in the missile launches.

Israel's Defense Ministry told the AP that a single missile was fired but gave no other details. It said the test was "successful."

Russia's state-run Interfax news agency said the "targets fell into the sea."...

Other reports indicate that a US intermediate range Sparrow missile was intercepted by an Israeli Arrow missile. I suspect it was a test of the missile defense system to be used if Syria or Iran launch attacks against Israel.

"It continues. Have seen gunships firing and heard much activity in the last few hours."...
The Iraqi claim is plausible. It is just the kind of thing that could be expected from ISIS forces. ISIS is in a desperate fight and appears willing to pull down all those around them as they lose.

Some injuries were reported and more than a dozen people were arrested after opposing sides clashed at dueling pro- and anti-Trump rallies, Berkeley, Calif., police said.
The liberals engage in projection by calling Trump supporters fascists, when it is in fact, their supporters who are sparking the violence in Califonia. There is a strain of intolerance for other points of view that is enforced by people dressed in black and their faces covered. They physically attack Trump supporters or other conservatives. These people may wear black but the are the Brownshirts of liberal fascism.

Fuel Fix:
OPEC producers took another 153,000 barrels a day off the market in March as part of its bid to drain the world’s oil glut.

In the cartel’s monthly report released Wednesday, independent sources reported the group of oil-producing countries has cut output by 1.1 million barrels a day since December.

Last month, Libya’s output dropped by nearly 9 percent, and production edged lower in the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Nigeria, Iran, Angola and other countries. Saudi Arabia raised production by 41,000 barrels a day.

That effort has pushed oil prices above $50 a barrel in recent months, breathing life into U.S. oil patches like the Permian Basin. U.S. crude rose 16 cents on Wednesday to $53.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as traders reacted to media reports that Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s de facto leader, wants to see OPEC continue production cuts into the second half of this year.

But even as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries works to slow…